Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez said in an interview on the show Foul Territory that he’s “throwing and feeling good” following August surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow (h/t Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner for reporting on Rodriguez’s comments). The newly minted Angel added that he considered surgery in Spring Training, but decided against it, only for the discomfort to become unbearable. “It got to a point where I was like, ‘I can’t take it.’”
Rodriguez has battled injuries for the majority of his career. He missed the entire 2025 campaign with shoulder and lat issues. He was sidelined for part of the 2024 season with a shoulder injury. A lat strain capped Rodriguez at 17 starts in 2022 and likely pushed his MLB debut back a season.
According to Rodriguez, the bone spurs have been an issue for quite some time. “They’ve been in there for three or four years. This is something that I’ve dealt with for a while, ever since I was in Double-A, Triple-A.” The righty added that the bone spurs seemed to have led to the recurring lat problems, as the muscle was working harder to slow his arm after releasing each pitch.
Los Angeles is betting on better health for Rodriguez. The Angels landed the talented righty in a straight swap for outfielder Taylor Ward earlier this week. Ward is coming off a career-best 36-homer season. He’s been a mainstay in the middle of LA’s lineup for the past four seasons. Ward will be a free agent after 2026, while Rodriguez is under team control through 2029. The trade helped the Angels free up some capital, as Ward is projected to earn $13.7MM in his last year of arbitration.
Rodriguez said he was caught off guard by the move, but is “pumped” to head to his new team. “I didn’t think the Orioles would trade me. But, obviously, the Angels wanted me bad enough, and it’s kind of a cool feeling.”
If the bone spur removal gets Rodriguez back on track from a health perspective, Los Angeles could have their ace of the future. The 26-year-old is just a few years removed from being the top pitching prospect in the league. After scuffling in his first taste of big-league action, he put together a 13-start stretch with a 2.58 ERA to close his rookie season. Rodriguez was on his way to a breakout 2024 before the shoulder injury cut his season short. The righty improved his strikeout rate to 26.5% while cutting his hard-hit rate by 4%. His xFIP (3.57) and SIERA (3.61) backed up his 3.86 ERA.
Rodriguez’s health update is in line with the info relayed by Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias back in September. The executive told reporters that Rodriguez was on track for 2026 Spring Training.
If the righty is indeed good to go for the spring, it’ll mark the first time he’s pitched competitively since July 2024. Rodriguez’s velocity will be important to monitor once he gets back on the mound. He averaged 97.4 mph on his fastball in his rookie season, but that number fell to 96.1 mph in 2024. Rodriguez’s arsenal will also be something to keep an eye on. He threw six different pitches in 2023, but trimmed that to four pitches the following season. Rodriguez ditched the cutter and sweeper in 2024, while throwing the curveball a bit harder and the slider slightly softer.
Rodriguez will slot in behind Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Soriano for the Angels. While Rodriguez’s health will be a main focus, there are plenty more questions to be answered in the rotation. Reid Detmers seems like he’ll get another shot as a starter after putting together a strong season out of the bullpen. Caden Dana and Mitch Farris closed 2025 in the rotation and are candidates for spots, though both had ERAs over 6.00 last year. Prospects George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri, acquired from the Phillies in the Carlos Estevez trade, could also factor into the equation.
Photo courtesy of Tommy Gilligan, Imagn Images
This smells of an IL stint to start the season.
I have always wondered if players delay surgeries due to pressure from teams or agents. Far too often we see player playing through injuries or taking a quick IL stint with the player and teams saying the, “just needs some rest”. And then comes the surgery.
Why not just get the surgery out of the way? Sucking while playing through an injury does NOT help the team or the next contract.
Shouldn’t it be quite the opposite as his elbow (now corrected with relatively minor surgery) was effecting his throwing shoulder?
If he suffered with the bone spurs for 3-4 years, then why didn’t he get it taken care of on one of his many trips to the IL? One has to wonder if he kept it from O’s management. all of that time.
I don’t agree with the part of this article speculating that he may be 100% now because of the bone spur removal.
Supposedly a player can keep the “pain” away from the Team but once the medical
Exams begin that staff should make a full
Diagnosis. As for Agents, they are about two things – player happiness and setting a path for the next contract. They can also serve as a buffer between player/team…
Trading for him without any medicals is like buying a used Hyundai with a branded title with over 100K miles before getting the CarFax back. And they took your first offer, you say?
Your take would have made more sense with a better vehicle. Say like a 2020 Dodge Challenger with 40K for $20K . After you buy it you check Car Fax find out the frame is bent. Who cares about a Hyundai ???
There’s a difference between medical reports and an up-to-date physical
Bad reporting made it seem like the Angels didn’t review his medicals at all, when in fact they just didn’t get Rodriguez to take a physical, which only occurs when a free agent
*only occurs when a free agent signs
Who said that the Angels didn’t look at Rodriguez’ medicals?
Surprising that so few people know that you don’t get a physical from a team that just traded for you.
Previous team provides medicals, thats it. This is standard
Angels need to trade/sign one more good starter. Still can’t rely on the “kids.”
I’m sure they will. They need a decent CF that can hit.
Why not? They’re a .500 team at best if everything breaks right. There’s no reason not to give the young guys a chance to establish themselves
Would anyone be surprised if Rodriguez has to undergo some kind of arm surgery in May while Taylor Ward hits .215 with less than 20 HRs for the Orioles?
So many thoughts
If he has been experiencing discomfort for a really long time and kept delaying surgery, I understand he wants to rehab and wait or whatever, but so many players particularly pitchers delay the inevitable, and it comes back to haunt them almost every single time.
Angels not doing a medical before agreeing to the trade is a really bad omen. But they jumped at the chance without giving it a second thought
On paper angels won the trade. But I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes a lose lose for both teams. Ward will leave Baltimore after one year and Grayson might never live up to his huge potential not for lack of talent but bec of Health problems
I really don’t care what he does 2026.
The Angels have him for four years.
Poor guy
Agreed. I’d be thrilled if the Angels slow-walked Rodriguez and he gave them 15 healthy starts and 75 IP over the 2nd half of the season.
I dont think it can be a lose for the Angels. Because by itself it could be a salary dump. Angels probably not that close to competing for a playoff spot this year with Ward on the roster. He is not a name or a star that is going to fill seats to justify a 13M spend if they dont make the playoffs. In that sense they already won.
Unless they miss the playoffs by a game but even then if they are competitive at the trade deadline a similar guy could be added. They cant be sure a 32-year-old with 175 Ks and a .230ish average can do the same thing two years in a row. Maybe a career year and will be overpaid this year.
So right there a victory getting him off the books. Then they have a guy for 4 years who once was the best pitching prospect in baseball and when healthy has looked great at times. He could be healthy for a decent stretch of time and be a front of the rotation starter. Bone spur removal may help. If they get anything out of him, just a bonus. If nothing, cut him, no big deal. Its already a win. It has the potential to be a big win.
Glad you’re NOT in charge
Ward had value though, dunno if you can call it a salary dump. Im often suprised, but id be shocked if they couldn’t have gotten at least a couple low level lottery tickets.
On paper Grayson is much better than that return, but if he never pitches the Angels yet again failed to get any value from a veteran player leaving.
Grayson has 4 years to show just one decent/healthy season for the angels to win this trade.
Now imagine you are a contender and you don’t believe that 2026 is that one decent/healthy season but you can get a right-handed power bat for the upcoming season when they’re in short supply…
Weeks later and the trade is still baffling – all the risk now rests with the Angels ! O’s FO probably popped a bottle once the deal was closed 🍾🥂
This makes the trade worse for the Orioles.
Mike Elias is a great amateur scout but the guy has made some pretty questionable trades in his short tenure. I understand trading away a pitcher coming off injury but 1 season of a high strikeout OF isn’t the return I would have gone after. The difference in salary and the O’s refusal to spend make it even worse.